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Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue--a spring/summer Junior Library Guild selection for middle school--is out this month!
We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she discusses The Language Inside by Holly Thompson:
"Emma Karas is a 'third culture kid.' Her parents grew up in the United States, but she calls Japan home even though she is not ethnically Japanese. When her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and decides to return to the U.S. for treatment, Emma is uprooted from her Japanese friends and her efforts to help survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and dropped into a world that she doesn’t understand. The stress causes her to suffer severe and frightening migraines. To take her mind off her mother’s health, her parents’ separation due to work, and her loneliness, she volunteers at a nursing home near her grandmother’s house in Massachusetts. There, she meets Samnang, a volunteer of Cambodian heritage with a troubled past, and Zena, a middle-aged poet with 'locked-in' syndrome. As she becomes comfortable in her new surroundings, she feels guilty that she is not helping her friends in Japan as they rebuild from the tsunami. Ultimately, this thoughtful, good-hearted teenager finds herself torn and having to make choices that weigh her own needs and the needs of others.
"Thompson is a poet and novelist from the U.S. who lives in Japan, Her second novel in verse is a strong follow-up to the acclaimed Orchards, which mostly takes place in her adopted home. The elegant and heartfelt poetry in The Language Insideallows the reader to explore Emma’s internal transformation as she navigates different cultures and the people in her life. Emma writes, 'it’s not just losing / Japanese words / and phrases / it’s as if I’ve lost / half of myself here / but no one knows / because I’m a white girl' There is very little dialogue, but through Emma’s eyes we see other characters clearly and Emma’s changing relationships with them. The most original aspect of this powerful and compelling story is Emma’s interaction with Zena via poetry, as we see the growing friendship between two people who, in distinct ways, understand that 'lonely is when the language outside / isn’t the language inside.'"
Today’s
Wednesday Writing Workout comes from Holly Thompson, a fellow TeachingAuthor, just in time to
celebrate yesterday’s Delacorte/Random House release of her second young adult
novel in verse, The Languge Inside.
The novel tells
the story of Emma Karas “who was raised in Japan; it’s the country she calls
home. But when her mother is diagnosed
with breast cancer, Emma’s family moves to a town outside Lowell,
Massachusetts, to stay with Emma’s grandmother while
her mom undergoes treatment.
Emma feels out of place in the United States. She begins to have migraines, and
longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a
long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write
down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists
elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems,
dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a
painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.”
The starred School Library Journal review called the
novel “a sensitive and compelling read that will inspire teens to contemplate
how they can make a difference.”
Kirkus described the novel as “an artistic picture of
devastation, fragility, bonds and choices.”
The Horn Book Magazine remarked that “readers will finish
the book knowing that, like Zena, the Cambodian refugees, and the tsunami
victims, Emma has the strength to ‘a hundred times fall down / a hundred and
one times get up.’”
-330+-+Holly+Thompson.jpg)
Many
TeachingAuthors readers met Holly in 2011 when my March 16 Student Success Story
interview celebrated the release of her first
young adult novel in verse, Orchards.
Orchards went on to win the APALA Asian/Pacific
American Award for Literature.
Raised in Massachusetts,
Holly earned a B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in
English (concentration creative writing/fiction) from New York University’s
Creative Writing Program. A longtime resident of Japan, Holly teaches creative
writing at Yokohama City University and also serves as Regional Advisor for the
Japan Chapter of SCBWI. Holly’s fiction
often relates to Japan and Asia.
Congratulations,
Holly, on yet another successful book!
And, thank you
for sharing your expertise with our TeachingAuthors readers – who happen to
have only until Sunday, May 19 to enter our TeachingAuthors Blogiversary
Giveaway!
Click here to
enter – if you haven’t already – the raffle to win one of 4 $25 Anderson’s
Bookshop Gift Certificates.
Esther
Hershenhorn
. . . . . . . .
Holly Thompson’s Wednesday Writing
Workout: Poetry with a Plot
When I do author
school visits, I love to introduce students to narrative poems and narrative
verse and get them started on writing their own. You can write and/or teach
this type of poetry, too – poetry I call “Poetry with a Plot.”
Beforehand:
1. Gather some
narrative poems—poems that tell a story—to share with students. Examples are
Gary Soto’s “Oranges,” Jeffrey Harrison’s “Our Other Sister,”
Naomi Shihab Nye’s “My Father and theFig Tree,” and “Fifteen”
or “Traveling Through The Dark,” by William Stafford, and my poem “Cod” (published in PoetryFriday Anthology Middle School)
2. Also gather
some verse novels. Select one scene to share with students. Choose a scene that
has a fairly clear beginning, middle and end. Chapter 22, Visitors, of my novel Orchards
is an example of a scene in verse with
a clear plot arc.
3. Create a list
of situations to share with students. Here are a few examples of some
situations that I like to use:
a mistake
a decision
a first time
a last time
a betrayal
an encounter
an argument
a mix-up
a lie
With the students:
1. Read the
narrative poems aloud. For each narrative poem, ask students to react. Ask:
What lines or stanzas do you like? Why? What is the mini plot of the poem—what
happens in this poem? Then have them look at the structure and style of the
poem. Ask: Do the structure and style help create the narrative? How?
2. Read aloud a
scene from a verse novel. Ask students to react. Ask: What lines or stanzas do
you like? What lines move you? What lines are powerful? Where did your breath
catch? Where did the pace pick up or slow down? Why? What is the basic plot arc
of the scene? Did any action happen off the page? How did the writer structure
the scene and create tension—with repetition, white space, short lines, long
lines, particular images, or sounds and rhythms?
3. Next, give
students your list of situations. Have students brainstorm examples of the
various types of situations. Students will then choose one type of situation
from which to create a narrative poem or scene in verse. Point out, for
example, that “Oranges” can be considered a first time poem; “Our Other Sister”
a lie poem; “Fifteen” and “Traveling Through the Dark” decision poems; and
“Cod” a betrayal poem. Chapter 22 in Orchards
might be considered an encounter scene. Tell students they can start from a
true situation, or partially fictionalize a situation, or veer away from actual
truth to completely fictionalize a situation.
4. After
students create first drafts of their narrative poems or scenes, have them work
at revising, individually and in peer workshops, checking for the narrative
arc, details, poetic elements, line breaks and spacing.
5. Finally when
students have polished their work, have students read, perform, create
multimedia presentations, publish in zines or submit their narrative poems or
scenes in verse to school magazines.
Be prepared to
be amazed! Good luck and let me know if you try this approach to introducing
narrative poems and and narrative verse.
# # #
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 10/26/2012
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Happy 10th Birthday PaperTigers!
I’ve been blessed to be a part of the PaperTigers’ team since December 2006 when I took on the role of Eventful World Coordinator just prior to the launch of the PaperTigers blog. As the years passed and PaperTigers continued to grow, evolve and expand (most noticeably with the launch of our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Sets and Outreach Program) my role within the organization changed too. In 2010 I was offered the job of Associate Editor and since then have worked closely alongside our wonderful and very talented editor Marjorie Coughlan to produce PaperTigers’ three components: the website, the blog and the Outreach site .
I consider myself so lucky to be doing a job that I love in a field that I love! Children’s literature has always been my passion and during my years with PaperTigers I’ve not been the only one in my family to benefit from the pile of books that just have to be read for work. (Insert a big smiley face here because really…how wonderful is it to have to read books!) When I started working at PaperTigers my children were in elementary school so naturally we focused a lot of our reading time at home on children’s and junior books. However as PaperTigers and my kids grew I found myself developing more and more interest in Young Adult books. Now I have to say that although children’s picture books will always hold a very special place in my heart , Young Adult books tug strongly at my heart too! So when it came time to do a Top 10 list for PaperTigers’ anniversary celebration, it only made sense for me to select my favorite Young Adult books. Drum roll please….in random order I present:
1. Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins (Delacorte Press, 2009)
When her unemployed father leaves India to look for work in America, Asha, her mother and sister move in with family in Calcutta. When news comes that her father is accidentally killed in America and her family’s financial difficulties intensify, Asha makes a heartwrenching, secret decision that solves many problems and creates others.
2. Borderline by Allan Stratton (Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2010)
When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious as does the FBI who descend on his home, and Sami’s family (the only Muslims in the neighbourhood) becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation.
3. Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth (Hyperion Books for Children , 2008)
12-year-old Leela’s husband unexpectedly dies and custom requires her confinement at home for a year, “keeping corner.” Prohibited from ever remarrying, Leela faces a barren future: however, her brother has the courage to buck tradition and hire a tutor to educate her. This powerful and enchanting novel juxtaposes Leela’s journey to self-determination with the parallel struggle of her family and community to follow Gandhi on the road to independence from British rule.
4. I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2006)
12-year-old Diego is deep in the Bolivian jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again. As well as being a great read, I am a Taxi packs in a store of information about Bolivia and the exploitation of children in the drug-trade, and raises polemics about the growth of the coca plant.
5. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Harper Collins, 2011)
During the Vietnam War Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
6. Karma by Cathy Ostlere
On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that fifteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world. Karma is the story of how a young woman, straddling two cultures and enduring personal loss, learns forgiveness, acceptance and love.
7. Orchards by Holly Thompson
After a bullied classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg – a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American- is sent to her family’s home in Japan for the summer. Kana wasn’t the bully, not exactly, but she didn’t do anything to stop what happened, either. As Kana begins to process the pain and guilt she feels, news from home sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.
8. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay (David Fickling Books, 2010)
Andi hasn’t seen her brother for eight years and when he steps off the plane from the Philippines, she cannot believe her eyes. He’s tall. EIGHT FOOT TALL. But Bernardo is not what he seems. Bernardo is a hero, Bernardo works miracles, and Bernardo has an amazing story to tell. In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.
9. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee and Low Books, 2011)
As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead—and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script.
10. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan (Groundwood Books, 2009)
Set in war-torn Afghanistan, post-Taliban and just after the American invasion in 2001, Wanting Mor brings a ravaged landscape to life and portrays the effects of war on civilians caught up in conflict, especially on children. Based on a true story about a girl who ended up in one of the orphanages Rukhsana sponsors in Afghanistan through the royalties of her book The Roses in My Carpets.
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 8/6/2012
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Edited and with a Foreword by Holly Thompson,
Tomo
Stone Bridge Press, 2012.
Ages: 12+
‘Tomo’ means ‘friend’ in Japanese and the purpose of this Anthology of Teen Stories is to offer friendship to Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011: specifically, the book is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives and to “all the young people of Tohuka”. Author Holly Thompson (The Wakame Gatherers, Orchards) has gathered contributions from creators of prose, poetry and graphic narrative, as well as translators, whose shared connection is Japan. Their work makes for a remarkable collection.
Many of the contributors’ names such as Alan Gratz, Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Shogo Oketani, or Graham Salisbury may already be familiar to readers; others such as Naoko Awa (1943-1993) or Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) will be less so, though famous in Japan. A great deal of Tomo’s success lies in its blend of expertly translated older stories with contemporary, new writing, and this is true also of the stories’ content. Many modern Japanese phenomena colour the stories, such as the particular fashion of Harajuku girls (“I Hate Harajuku Girls” by Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito) or the Purikura photo sticker booths (“Signs” by Kaitlin Stainbrook), yet these sit easily alongside more traditional stories such as the magical Ainu fable “Where the Silver Droplets Fall”, transcribed and translated into Japanese by Yukie Chiri (1903-1922) and translated into English by Deborah Davidson. The anthology is all the richer for its varied array of writing, and its success is also in a great part due to the skill of the different translators involved.
The thirty-six stories are divided into sections: Shocks and Tremors, Friends and Enemies, Ghosts and Spirits, Powers and Feats, Talents and Curses, Insiders and Outsiders, and Families and Connections. The opening story, “Lost” by Andrew Fukuda, is the gripping account of a girl regaining consciousness in a hospital bed following the Kobe earthquake in 1995; the other four stories in that opening section, including Tak Toyoshima’s graphic strip “Kazoku”, all have the raw immediacy of being set in the aftermath of the March 11th disaster.
Among the other stories, readers will find stories to suit every mood: thought-provoking tales of conflict, spine-tingling ghost stories (I’m glad all these happen to have fallen to my reading in hours of daylight!), ostracism and friendship, romance, magic and surrealism. Yearning to belong is a thread running through many stories, and the intensity for those characters seeking their identity is heightened where they are part of a bicultural family. Nor does the collection flinch from addressing racial prejudice or the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War.
As with all good short-story anthologies, Tomo needs to be read slowly in order to savour the intense individual flavors of its contents. Framed by an extract from David Sulz’s translation of Miyazawa’s thought-provoking poem “Be Not Defeated by the Rain” as well as Holly Thompson’s moving Foreword, and a glossary and note on the book’s contributors (a rich mine for future reading), Tomo is a very speci
I joined the PaperTigers team in 2008. At that time, there were five of us on the team — Aline Pereira, Marjorie Coughlan, Corinne Robson, and Janet Brown. Based as we were in different locations — Aline in the U.S., Marjorie in the U.K., Corinne and I in Canada, Janet in Thailand, we made quite a cosmpolitan group. All of us were enthusiastic about the rapidly developing online world of communication on and or about children’s books. I joined the team as a blog contributor and reviewer; I was thrilled at the prospect of being able to write about multicultural childrens’ books on a weekly basis for a blog. The position came up on the heels of my having just experimented with blogging on the late Canadian poet Margaret Avison (see: Month with Margaret blog) and I was eager to explore the world of children’s books thru blogging.
Well, as they say, all good things come to an end, and so has my time with PaperTigers. It’s been a wonderful ride these past few years. I have been introduced to many interesting and engaging writers, illustrators and fellow kidlit bloggers, and my reading life with my children has been deeply enriched by my involvement in this fine on-line publication. Corinne and Marjorie will be staying on as editors, and they will be introducing guest bloggers (see already featured Holly Thompson and Tarie Sabido) as the year goes on, so do stay tuned! I’ll be moving on to other things in my writing career but I might pop in here and there with a post or review. Until then, I bid you farewell, faithful PaperTiger reader and wish you a happy summertime of reading to your children!
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 5/30/2012
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Children’s and YA Books in Translation from Japan ~ by Holly Thompson
Part 3 of 3 (read Part 1 here and Part 2 here)
Over the years of raising our children in Japan, I have kept my eyes out for Japanese children’s books translated into English. Sadly, far more titles go from English into Japanese than from Japanese into English. Having peaked in numbers in the 1980s, nowadays few Japanese children’s and young adult books are translated into English each year.
The reasons for so few Japanese books being sold to English-language publishers are layered and complicated ranging from cultural differences and weak English copy or sample translations used for marketing books to foreign publishers, to stagnant picture book markets in English-speaking countries and a lack of interest from markets that are focused intently on books set in their own countries.
Currently, most of the children’s books translated from Japanese into other languages are sold to other countries in Asia—particularly Korea and Taiwan, and more recently, China. The International Library of Children’s Literature in Ueno, Tokyo, held an exhibit in 2010 Children’s Books Going Overseas from Japan and much exhibit information on translated Japanese children’s books appears on their website.
Because our children are bilingual, when they were young we read most Japanese picture books in Japanese, but we 
searched out English translations of Japanese picture books as gifts for relatives, friends or libraries in the U.S. Some of the Japanese picture books in translation that we loved to give are Singing Shijimi Clams by Naomi Kojima, The 14 Forest Mice books and others by Kazuo Iwamura, and books illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. Our all-time family favorite Japanese picture book was the widely read Suuho no shiroi uma, published in English as Suho’s White Horse, a Mongolian tale retold by Japanese author Yuzo Otsuka, illustrated by Suekichi Akaba, and translated by Peter Howlett—featured in this PaperTigers post.
R.I.C. Publications has a number of well-known Japanese picture books and some Ainu folktales in translation. Kane/Miller Book Publishers now focuses on books set in the U.S. but used to focus on translations of books from around the world; their catalog has a section on Books from Japan including the hugely successful Minna unchi by Taro Gomi, translated by Amanda Mayer Stinchecum and published in English as Everyone Poops. And recently Komako Sakai’s books have traveled overseas including Ronpaachan to fuusen published by Chronicle Books as Emily’s Balloon and Yuki ga yandara released as The Snow Day by Arthur A. Levine Books.
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By:
Aline Pereira,
on 5/23/2012
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English-language Asia-set Children’s and YA Fiction ~ by Holly Thompson
Part 2 of 3 (read Part 1 here)
Some years back as we settled into our bicultural family life with young children here in Japan, although we were surrounded by books in Japanese and took full advantage of Japan’s healthy picture book and middle-grade market, we discovered that finding English-language reading material to support our bilingual children was no easy task. Because our children attended Japanese schools, English education happened in our home, and we needed a steady supply of English-language books. But libraries in Japan stock few English-language books, and bookstores here carry very few and at hefty mark-ups, so whenever friends or family visited from the U.S. they brought books to us. Returning from a trip back to the States, our luggage was always heavy with books. We book-swapped with families in Japan, we ordered from Scholastic with our English-after school group, and we pounced on book sale tables at international school fairs. At last, Amazon Japan with free and quick delivery of affordable overseas books came to the rescue.
Always on the lookout for books relating to our lives while raising our bilingual children, we soon became aware of a lack of English-language children’s books that reflect Japan. English-language picture books set in Japan were rare, and those that existed, we discovered, tended toward folktales and nonfiction. Where were the day-to-day stories that reflected the landscapes and people and value systems surrounding us? Where was Japan?
We treasured our Allen Say books, especially Kamishibai Man and Grandfather’s Journey.
We read and reread the bilingual Grandpa’s Town by Takaaki Nomura. We enjoyed folktale retellings like The Seven Gods of Luck by David Kudler and Yoshi’s Feast by Kimiko Kajikawa. and biographical works like Cool Melons—Turn to Frogs by Matthew Gollub. All excellent, but we were discouraged that such English-language titles set in Japan were few and far between.
Searching for other Asian cultures in English-language picture books yielded similar results—folktales, nonfiction and concept books, but few fictional stories set in Asia.
As the children grew older, we came to realize that even less common than English-language picture books set in Asia were English-language middle-grade and YA novels set in Japan and Asia. What we found was mostly historical fiction. Of course we read and loved Korea-set historical novels by Linda Sue Park, Japan-set novels by
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By:
Aline Pereira,
on 5/16/2012
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Japanese Picture Books as a Window to Japan ~ by Holly Thompson
Part 1 of 3
Some years ago, as we prepared for a second time to settle in Japan, with children ages two and seven, we were excited about the immediate access we would have to Japanese children’s literature. Japan has long had a robust children’s book market, and we were eager to be immersed in it. So after we moved into our rented home and formed our new school, work and household routines, just as we had in the U.S., we made weekly trips to our local library and brought home stacks of picture books, nature field guides, activity and art books, and, of course, manga—fiction, historical, and biography. With bookstores located at most Japanese train stations and plentiful throughout our town, we also spent hours browsing shop aisles.
Written Japanese includes three writing systems—kanji characters plus two phonetic syllabaries, and young children first learn to read the phonetic hiragana syllabary. Once children can read the hiragana symbols, reading words written in hiragana is immediate. Japanese children aged three and four are often seen reading books that are written entirely in hiragana, and our daughter could read this way in Japanese well before she could read in English.
Japanese picture books took our family deeper inside Japan. Not only were we exposed to great and quirky Japanese stories, but children’s books also provided a window into attitudes and human relations in our adopted culture. We came to better appreciate the rhythms of the language, learned dialogue for every situation, and encountered an infinite number of Japanese onomatopoeias. Japanese is such a complex language to read and write well, and children’s science and nonfiction books offered easy-to-comprehend information about the world around us—the physical world and the society to which we were adapting.
Many of our favorite Japanese children’s books from our years with younger children were published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers —their regular picture books, as well as their monthly series: Kodomo no tomo (Children’s Companion, in three age levels—0-2, 2-4, 5-6), Kagaku no tomo (Children’s Science Companion, in two age levels—3-5 and 5-6), Takusan no fushigi (World of Wonders, ages 8 and up) and the discontinued Ookina poketto (Big Pocket).
Fukuinkan Shoten’s monthly books (image on left) include original richly illustrated picture book stories, folktales, and outstanding and varied nonfiction. Published in sturdy paperbacks and often organized in their own sections in school and public libraries, these children’s books have endured on our shelves. I’ve often wondered if English-language publishers might benefit by considering the monthly book model that Fukuinkan Shoten has followed with great success here in Japan. Many of the most successful and popular monthly books, published initially as paperbacks with smaller print runs, are later published in hardcover, such as Taro Gomi’s Minna Unchi, famous in English as Everyone Poops.
Even without small children now, I still like 
to purchase Fukuinkan Shot
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Later today we will be launching a new feature here on the PaperTigers’ blog entitled Global Voices. Each month we will be inviting a guest to join us and write three blog posts. The posts will be published on three consecutive Wednesdays within each month under the title “Global Voices”. Our guests, located around the world, are all involved in the world of kid and YA lit and include award winning authors and illustrators, bloggers, librarians, educators and more! It is our hope that through the Global Voices posts we can better highlight the world of multicultural kid lit and YA lit in different countries around the world. The Global Voices line-up for May, June and July is:
Holly Thompson (Japan/USA)
Holly Thompson was raised in New England and is a longtime resident of Japan. Her verse novel Orchards (Delacorte/Random House) won the 2012 APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and is a YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults title. She recently edited Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories (Stone Bridge Press), and her next verse novel The Language Inside (Delacorte/Random House) will be published in 2013. Her picture book The Wakame Gatherers was selected by the National Council for the Social Studies in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council as ‘A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2009′. Holly teaches creative writing at Yokohama City University and serves as the regional advisor of the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Visit her website: www.hatbooks.com
Tarie Sabido (Philippines)
Tarie is a lecturer of writing and literature in the Philippines and blogs about children’s and young adult literature at Into the Wardrobe and Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind. She is also on the staff of Color Online, a blog about women writers of color for children, young adults and adults. Tarie was a judge for the 2009 Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (CYBILS) and the 2010 Philippine National Children’s Book Awards. At the 2010 Asian Festival of Children’s Content, Tarie and I joined Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal in the panel discussion Building a Nation of Readers via Web 2.0: An Introduction to the Kidlitosphere and the YA Blogsphere.
René Colato Laínez (El Salvador/USA)
René Colato Laínez was born in El Salvador. At the age of fourteen he moved to the United States, where he later completed the MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults at the Vermont College. René is the author of I Am
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Take some time today and head on over to author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog Cynsations to read her Guest Post with author Holly Thompson entitled “Holly Thompson on the Perfect Setting & Orchards“.
Orchards is Thompson’s debut novel for young adults and is written in verse. It tells the story of Kana Goldberg, a half-Jewish, half-Japanese American teenager who, after a classmate’s unexpected death, is sent to her family’s farm in Japan to reflect on her participation in the events that led up to the classmate’s suicide.
Orchards has been receiving rave reviews since it’s release this past Spring (read PaperTigers’ review here) and is included on the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominations list.
Holly has been keeping extremely busy this year (click here to visit her blog) and has just returned from the Manila International Literary Festival where she presented three panel discussions:
“Writing for Young Adults” with author Perpi Alipon-Tiongson and publisher RayVi Sunico;
“The Many Forms of the Novel” in which she spoke about writing in verse and read an excerpt from Orchards; and
“The Stranger Experience” on writing away from home, cross-cultural experiences, and the multi-faceted immigration experience with Gemma Nemenzo and Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz. The immigrant’s experience plays a vital role in Junot’s work and I have to share this amazing quote from him that I found on Tarie Sabido’s blog Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind:
“You guys know about vampires? … You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist? And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might see themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.” — Junot Diaz
The Japan Times recently published an article entitled Fate’s path led Canadian to Kamakura: Heather Willson makes her mark, keeps focused on road ahead and her Cambodia school. The school referred to in the article, Butterfly School, is a free English school in the village of Popeae, near Udong, Cambodia, established by Heather Willson with Head Teacher Sovann Phon in September 2005.
Last year we were pleased to have the Butterfly School involved with our Spirit of PaperTigers Outreach Project. Holly Thompson, author and SCBWI Tokyo regional advisor, hand delivered a 2010 Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set to the school. The photo accompanying the Japan Times article (and reprinted here) shows Heather reading one of the 2010 Spirit of PaperTigers books, My Little Round House, to the Butterfly School students.
To read more about the Butterfly School’s involvement with our project and to read their feedback on the 2010 Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set, please click here
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The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents:
SCBWI Tokyo Illustrators Exhibition 2011
Messages from our Hearts to Friends Not Yet Met
Time: Tuesday, September 6 – Sunday, September 11, 2011
Place: Galerie Malle, 4-8-3 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Messages from our Hearts to Friends Not Yet Met is an exhibition by eleven children’s book illustrators who live in Japan and are active internationally. Exhibitors are Akira Hamano, Michael Kloran, Naomi Kojima, John Kolosowski, Midori Mori, Shohei Nishihara, Paul Richardson, Daniel Schallau, Izumi Tanaka, Kazuko Unosawa and Yoko Yoshizawa. Each artist will exhibit several illustrations and works will be available for sale.
For more information contact Holly Thompson, Regional Advisor, SCBWI Tokyo by clicking here.
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I had the great pleasure this past weekend of going to Tokyo for two PaperTigers related events — one, to give a talk about PaperTigers to the SCBWI Tokyo chapter, and two, to visit the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Exhibit held annually in Japan at the Itabashi Art Museum. On Friday, July 8 a small but enthusiastic audience of SCBWI members came to my talk at Tokyo’s Women’s Plaza in Shibuya to hear me explain what
PaperTigers is all about. I told everyone how there were three main components to PaperTigers — the blog, the website, and the outreach program. When my focus turned to the SPT outreach program, I was also able to introduce host Holly Thompson’s particular outreach contribution which involved a set of books being donated to the Butterfly School in Cambodia. That was a great plus! After our talk, we had a round of Q and A about PaperTigers and I got to see some of the lovely work of illustrators such as Izumi Tanaka and hear about writer and illustrator Yoko Yoshizawa’s work with the retelling of folktales around the world, using the work of local illustrators. I met Ruth Gilmore, librarian and church worker, and author of kidsermons– a four book series of children’s sermons. I was able to meet with Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu, creator of the wonderful website about Japan called Here and There Japan. And of course, it was quite exciting for all of us to chat about Holly Thompson’s new fundraising project, the Tomo anthology of Japan-related YA fiction, which is now receiving submissions. Check out the Tomo blog as well as Holly’s own blog and website, Hatbooks.
The following Saturday I went to the Itabashi Art Museum to see the 2010 Bologna Book Fair exhibit. The Book Fair exhibit tours
Japan annually. In the Tokyo area, the hosting museum is the Itabashi Art Museum which has been hosting the book fair for thirty years. I was most intrigued by the artwork of the winner of the 2010 International Award for Illustration, Philip Giordano. His illustrations were for a rather fantastical re-telling of the famous Japanese fairytale — Kaguyahime. There were many other wonderful illustrations, but I was a bit dismayed by how few there were from the Americas — south and north. Yet, I was very glad to get a taste of some of the world’s best art for children; it certainly inspired me to think about writing for children in a new way! I picked up the Illustrator’s Annual and have been enjoying browsing through it.
As delightful as my Tokyo visit was, it ended rather soberly with tremors from a 7.3 earthquake that hit Tohoku on the morning of July 10. I was in my cousin’s apartment when things started to sway and shake
Drum roll, please!
The winner of our TeachingAuthors Book Give-away Raffle of Holly Thompson's young adult novel Orchards is: Mikako Sakae of Scarsdale, New York!
In learning she'd won a signed copy of Orchards, Mikako wrote that her teacher, Kathy Gray, who is a college friend of Holly's, recommended she visit our blog to read the interview.
She considers the prize "splendid" and plans to share the book with her friends.
Esther Hershenhorn
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By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 25, 2010
Thanks to Lauren Donovan from Random House Kids, I have the following book list to pass on …
Join in GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week (January 24-28, 2011) with titles from Random House Children’s Books:
CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER BULLY
By Trudy Ludwig; Illustrated by Beth Adams
(Tricycle Press / on sale August 24, 2010 / $18.99 / Ages 8-12)
Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a bully? Katie has been caught bullying a classmate and now she’s in big trouble: both her parents and the principal insist that she meet with the school counselor, Mrs. Petrowski, to get to the bottom of her behavior. Mrs. Petrowski encourages Katie to keep a diary where Katie can explore her reasons for bullying and the repercussions of what she’s done, not only for those around her, but for Katie herself. Over the course of writing her journal, Katie uncovers the various forms bullying can take, both emotional and physical. She discovers how her actions have isolated her from her peers and kept her from making real friendships. Ultimately, Katie comes to the conclusion that she needs to make right her wrong and learn how to become a better friend. Chock full of useful, real-life advice and information, Confessions of a Former Bully will help kids identify bullying right from the start and gives them a “toolbox” with everything they need to stop it in its tracks. The notebook format, including full-color cartoons and relevant facts and quotes, makes this highly accessible for upper elementary students. Trudy Ludwig is an award–winning author who specializes in writing children’s books that explore the colorful and sometimes confusing world of children’s social interactions. She has received rave reviews nationwide from educators, experts, organizations, and parents for her passion and compassion in addressing relational aggression—the use of relationships to manipulate and hurt others. Since her first book, My Secret Bully, she has become a sought–after speaker, presenting at schools and conferences around the country and educating students, parents, and teachers on the topic. She has been featured on television, radio and in print.
“Confessions of a Former Bully is unmatched in providing effective tools for girls and boys in EVERY social role, whether they are instigators, targets or bystanders. Rarely does a book speak so effectively to both kids and adults alike; certainly a must-read for all young children, as well as educators and counselors.”
–Melissa Norman, Founder & Executive Director, Girl CHARGE, Inc
Add this book to your collection: Confessions of a Former Bully
GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLS’ ROOM: A Blogtastic! Novel
By Rose Cooper
(Delacorte Press / on sale January 11, 2011 / $12.99 / Ages 10 & up)
In Rose Cooper’s debut novel, one sixth grader is all ears—and puts it all online, until she discovers a secret so juicy, it has the power t
I am thrilled to say that I have been invited, and of course accepted, an invitation to speak at the First Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) in Singapore in May 2010. This is sponsored by the National Book Development Council of Singapore.
The goals of the Asian Festival of Children's Content are to:
· Develop the writing and the illustrating of Children's stories and content.
· Promote publishing of Asian content.
· Provide the world with access to such material created in Asia.
Visit the the website (www.bookcouncil.sg) for more info.
And my friend Holly Thompson, the SCBWI Regional Advisor for Tokyo will also be there too!!!
Target participants are writers, illustrators, librarians, teachers, publishers, editors, translators literary agents and producers of media of Asian children’s content. So if you have nothing to do around that time of year ... come on along!
As I mentioned the other day, SCBWI Tokyo recently hosted an event titled Storyboards and Picture Book Dummies for Good Bookmaking with picture book author/illustrator Naomi Kojima. Born in Japan, Naomi spent her childhood years in the U.S. and studied sculpture at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Her first two picture books, Mr. and Mrs. Thief and The Flying Grandmother were published in New York soon after she joined a Massachusetts SCBWI chapter. Since then, her books have been published in the U.S. and Japan, and translated into French, Swedish, and Indonesian. Her other books include The Alphabet Picture Book and Singing Shijimi Clams which my daughter gave rave reviews to when she borrowed it recently from our local library.
Holly Thompson, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Tokyo, was kind enough to send some photos of the event (which was conducted in English and Japanese!) and writes:
Yes, Naomi Kojima gave a wonderful workshop for SCBWI Tokyo! She covered storyboarding and dummy
making, and participants were given sample storyboards as well as text to divide and paste into notebooks to create dummies. Kojima shared several of her own storyboards including one for a new story she is currently developing. At the end participants had a chance to share the dummies they had created and to discuss their different approaches to dividing the text for effective page turns. In the second photo we are all holding books by Naomi.
Thank you for your continued interest in SCBWI Tokyo! We would be happy if you would share this with Paper Tiger readers.
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With over 22,000 members worldwide in over 70 regions, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is the largest children’s writing organization in the world and acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between all those involved with literature for young people. Twice a year the SCBWI brings together top professionals to share their knowledge at the annual Summer and Winter conferences. Each month regional chapters sponsor or organize events around the globe and often times these events are open to both members and non-members. (Some of the events are included on our PaperTigers’ Calendar of Events but you can click here to see the full list.) If an event catches your eye, contact a Regional Advisor for more information. Whether you are already established in the children’s industry, just starting to enter the world of children’s book writing and illustrating, or simply have a passion for children’s literature, I’m sure you will find a warm welcome.
Here are a few highlights in Septemeber:
JAPAN
This past weekend SCBWI Japan hosted Storyboards and Picture Book Dummies for Good Bookmaking with author/illustrator Naomi Kojima. Holly Thompson, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Tokyo, has kindly sent me photos from the event which I will post soon.
AUSTRALIA - Sunday the 20th - Breakfast with the Visiting SPRUNG Children’s Authors
Share coffee and croissants with visiting children’s authors and illustrators then walk up the road to enjoy a range of sessions at the Albany SPRUNG Writers Festival.
PHILIPPINES - Saturday the 26th - Children’s Book Seminar at the University of the Philippines, Visayas (City Campus)
Regional Advisor Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo tells me that this event will appeal to anyone published or aspiring to be a children’s book writer or illustrator.
Korea - Thursday the 24th - Sunday the 25th
The 6th Canadian Children’s Book Seminar at the Embassy of Canada located in Jeong-dong, Seoul. A few hundred children’s books from major Canadian publishing companies will be displayed. This event is not sponsored by SCBWI but Jenny Desmond-Walters, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Korea found out about it and was kind enough to forward the information. If Jenny is able to attend I’m sure she’ll send us some photos. Stay tuned. Thanks Jenny!
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on 8/8/2009
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The blossoms flitter through the air spreading seeds of hope. The gentle water colour painting of a little girl and boy blowing hope across the seas to Australian children by Hong Kong artist/illustrator Mary Ma, was given to Australia by Kathleen Ahrens at the International party at the LA SCBWI Conference.
My USA publisher Tricycle (Crown imprint of Random House USA) had postcards of I AM JACK waiting for me in the conference hotel in LA - how terrific is that!
January's issue of The Edge of the Forest features an interview with our own Holly Thompson talking about The Wakame Gatherers, Japan, and writing. (She even mentions me and Shen's Books-- yay!)
Here's an excerpt that I found particularly interesting, as it pertains to some of the issues we covered in our "Crossing Cultural Borders" series of posts.
The Edge of the Forest: In workshops you've conducted you've spoken about some of the mistakes writers make when attempting to write multicultural fiction. Could you give a couple of examples?
Holly Thompson: Perhaps the most serious mistake writers make is not knowing a culture deeply enough; this can result in a book full of clichés—in setting, characterization, and dialogue. Another mistake is not doing enough research and relying on rather narrow personal experience. A writer doesn't need to be a native of a culture to write about a culture; research with primary resources, substantial direct experience and interviews with experts can enable a writer to create an authentic story.
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writerross tagged me for the 8 things meme, so I'm emerging from under all the unpacked moving boxes to reveal all. Ok, maybe not quite *all* - this being the clean blog and all.
But I will reveal 8 things:
1. I was named after my great-grandmothers, Sarah and Esther, hence Sarah Elizabeth. But I also had a great-grandmother named Clara, and my parents, from whom I clearly inherited my warped sense of humor, were actually considering naming me Sarah Clara Darer. As if going through middle school named Sarah Darer weren't bad enough. However, I've embraced my inner saraclaradaraness and hence my blogname.
2. I have an BA in Politics and an MBA in Finance. Oh, and a certificate in Tree and Woodland Management from Kingston Maurward Agricultural College in Dorset, England. I dream of someday getting an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College, so I finally have a degree in the thing I wanted to study all along.
3. I would bet a reasonable amount of money that I'm the only woman in Greenwich, CT who can tell you everything you want to know about the lactation yield curve of a dairy cow.
4. I'm Sarah, and I'm recovering from Martha Stewartitis. I love to entertain, and have a major Martha Stewart complex. There's a huge box waiting to come out of storage that is filled with a large collection of wicker baskets that I use to "present" food. Whilst this means that I probably have a strain of OCD, it also enables me to throw great parties.
5. I spent three hours (!) on the phone with Verizon on Tuesday morning last week trying to get a fax line and FIOS installed at my new house. This is after spending several hours on the phone with them in the previous few weeks. They still messed it up, to the point that I quite literally was banging my head against the wall in frustration. This despite me being a loyal Verizon customer for 8 years and having 4 Verizon Wireless cellphones -not all for me, I hasten to add. I now hate Verizon with a passion, and if that stupid electronic woman continues to robo-call me, I'm going to sue them.
6. I used to play the cello. When I was 12, I was accepted to Junior Trinity at Trinity College of Music in London. Unfortunately, we moved back to the US before I could attend, and that hastened the end of my cello playing career.
7. Much to my daughter's excruciating embarrassment and dismay, I feel happy and free when I'm dancing. Especially when it's with a guy dressed in gold lame and fishnets. If my feet would allow, I would dance all night long.
8. I can walk straight past milk and white chocolate without batting an eyelid, but will do pretty much anything for really fine dark chocolate.
Ok, if you read this and haven't done it yourself, consider yourself tagged!
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Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue--a spring/summer Junior Library Guild selection for middle school--is out this month!
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Congratulations on the release of your new book, Holly. It sounds like a terrific read. And thanks so much for sharing this wonderful writing workout. I look forward to trying it with my students.
Verse novels seem to be in the forefront these days. I am looking forward to reading this new one.
I saved the writing idea to use this summer in a writing camp. Thanks.
Thank you for keeping up up-to-date on Holly, Esther--I LOVED Orchards--and what a wonderful exercise.
I can see using this exercise straight "out of the box" in poetry workshops. I can also see how I could use the bones of the exercise and modify it for prose workshops.
Glad you found Holly's WWW helpful, Margaret.
Verse novels can be so tricky but Holly makes them easy to take in.
Thank you, Esther, for sharing this. I just returned from Jeju, Korea, where I worked with international school students using this lesson. There were some incredible drafts growing on their laptops!
Great lesson plan! Thanks for sharing it, and for the interview Esther.
I put this one on my wish list. Thank you!